Living with COVID

It's interesting to see how people respond to the latest spike in COVID cases. I see governments in the region advising their people to wear masks to protect themselves, avoid crowded places, etc. 

But what is interesting is that the Singapore government is simply telling us to make sure our vaccinations is current, and that we should just go on with life and be socially responsible as we do so. This includes maintaining good personal hygiene, don a mask if we are unwell, do our ART before interacting with elders and people whose immunity are compromised, and so on. Of cos, there is a caveat - should the capacities of public health facilities be overwhelmed, public safe measures like restricting crowds might be done. Otherwise, we should learn to live with the virus and just go on with our lives as normally as possible. This, I believe, is the right approach.

We must accept that the virus is not going away anytime soon, will continue to mutate and more of us will get re-infected as we live with the virus. Objectively, getting reinfected may not necessary be a bad thing. It helps our immunity get updated with the latest strain of the virus. And the next time when a new, and possibly, a more lethal strain appears, we will be better protected. As for why regional governments are asking their citizens to don the masks and minimise going out, I can only suspect their vaccinated/ boosted rate is a lot a lot lower than Singapore and many may have lost their immunity to the virus.

Well, whatever the case, please keep well, keep calm and…

Live on.

Embarrassed

Lately, I reconnected with some long time friends and learned about things that made me feel bad and embarrassed.

What they shared was consistent - it’s about things my ex did - from borrowing large amounts of money and not repaying, to cheating, to lying to gain favours, etc. One of them had even gotten into troubles because of this. And despite him not repaying or creating troubles for them, they have kept quiet about it cos they didn’t want to embarrass me.

What made me felt bad was that they entertained him because of me. And they have not spoken about it until now. It’s been some time and they have acknowledged their misjudgment and accepted that they will probably not get their monies back.

Sighs.

Time waits for no man

I went to see my family doctor this morning. Had visited this doctor since 5 years old and understood from my mum he operated on me when they discovered a growth on my neck. It’s been almost 52 years.

The doctor is now in his 80s and in recent years, his son (who is also a general practitioner) has taken more responsibilities treating patients at the clinic. As a patient, it is not my habit to ask after the doctor’s  health and I’ve never done so in my life. But today, seeing this old, weak and feeble doctor, I couldn’t help but asked him how he has been and if his health is ok. It must have surprised him for his face lit up a little as he explained that he had had a fall 3 months ago. The fall left him with a broken humerus and till today, has not fully recovered. I also noted he now walks unsteadily. I asked him to take care of himself before leaving the consultation room.

We may have a patient-doctor relationship but this man is one whom I have deep respects for. He has been a very caring person who, in the years passed, went beyond his call of duty to attend to the community and many spoke fondly of him. He has at times refused payment especially for people who were struggling financially. Over the years I have established a form of relationship that’s hard to explain. He knows my whole family and often asked about them. Anyway, I wished him well and left. I couldn’t help but wonder if I will ever get to see him again if and when I fall sick next. 

We all walk the same passage of time and I acknowledge the mortality of everyone. His time is not too far given his advanced age. One day, my time will come too. Birth, aging, sickness and death - all inevitable fact and passage of life that all of us have to go through. 

I wish him well, I really do.